1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to inter-connectible portable floor panels to be secured together in an edge-to-edge relationship to form an extended floor suitable for indoor and/or outdoor use and in particular to floor panels having cores made with a horizontally unsymmetrical layer configuration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Portable floors are generally configured with interlocking square or rectangular floor sections or panels and used to provide a hard surface floor that may be set up over carpeting or other surfaces on a temporary basis by joining floor sections together in an edge to edge relationship. Latches or other connections are provided along the edges to secure adjacent sections together to form an extended floor surface.
Portable floors are used for a variety of purposes and are particularly useful in the hospitality and entertainment industries for providing temporary dance floors. It is often necessary to provide a temporary smooth, hard surface for dancing or other activities that can be removed so the space may be used for other activities. The floors are usually connected together in an edge to edge fashion with releasable latches along the edges. Examples of such portable floors include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,310,919; 4,988,131; 6,128,881; 6,189,283 and 7,621,091, all assigned to Sico Incorporated, the Assignee of the present invention. Although such floors are useful and generally reliable, temporary portable floors suffer from problems related to warping of the panels. Many dance floor panels have a wood core that is relatively heavy. Warping is more common for floors that may be used in outdoor elements and placed over grass where the temperature gradient can be high between an upper surface of the panels exposed to the sun and the bottom surface of the panels that may be placed over cooler ground or wet grass. Temperature differences may be substantial between the upper surface and lower surface. Moreover, the humidity levels may vary substantially between the top exposed surface and the lower surface. This problem is compounded should rain occur or there be standing water. To overcome such warping problems and to avoid trapping moisture, floor panels have been made without a wood core and incorporate other water resistant materials. Such designs may include an unreinforced, lightweight foam core with layers balanced above and below the foam core. Although such balanced layered construction floor panels are generally satisfactory, the decorative layer applied to the top and bottom may trap moisture and in some instances, may lead to warping issues.
It can be seen that an improved floor panel and floor system is needed that is lightweight, has rugged construction of all weather materials that resists warping. In addition, such a floor panel should be easy to connect to other similar floor sections and have a strong attachment between the floor panel core and the edge portions. Such a panel should also utilize lightweight materials and eliminate a bottom laminate that may absorb moisture. The present invention addresses these as well as other problems associated with portable floors and floor panels.